"You are so loved!" That's the phrase that caught my eye in the press release that turned up in my email last week. I like the sound of it, because it's not something you see a lot — at least in emails around here.

Our mid-afternoon cruise on Biscayne Bay was steered by an unusual partnership. The joint owners of the boat operated with a clear division of labor. One owner fueled the boat with cash, while the other partner poured in sweat equity by handling most of the crew, maintenance and cleaning duties.

Earlier this year, I reported in this space about a happy collision between my music and travel assignments, a Paul McCartney concert at Sun Life Stadium in Miami that offered the opportunity to hang at too-trendy-for-me South Beach.

Although you may not want to leave the sun and sand, Daytona Beach shopping has a variety of options. From the Farmers Market to New Smyrna Beach, there is definitely more to choose from besides just swimsuits and beach gear--but of course there is plenty of that too.

The Daytona Beach area is well known for its 23 miles of sparkling, white-sandy beaches stretching from Ormond-by-the-Sea to the Ponce Inlet. At low tide, area beaches can be up to 500 feet wide and are conducive to sandcastle building, cycling, jogging, fishing or just relaxing.

Florida's country inns escaped the ravages of summer's flames and floods, but several came close to total disaster, including a Victorian charmer tucked into a forested yesteryear in Lake Helen, a few minutes from the spiritualists in Cassadaga and only seven miles from DeLand.